Bobcats vs. Blazers
7 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena
TV: SportSouth. Radio: WFNZ-AM 610
Projected Starters
| Bobcats | Blazers | |||||
| Pos, Player | Ppg | Rpg | Pos, Player | Ppg | Rpg | |
| G, K. Walker | 17.6 | 4.2 | G, D, Lillard | 21.2 | 3.6 | |
| G, G. Henderson | 14.5 | 4.1 | G, W. Matthews | 16.4 | 3.8 | |
| F, M. Kidd-Gilchrist | 7.4 | 5.0 | F, N. Batum | 13.3 | 7.4 | |
| F, J. McRoberts | 8.4 | 4.9 | F, D. Wright | 13.3 | 7.4 | |
| C, A. Jefferson | 21.3 | 10.4 | C, R. Lopez | 10.9 | 8.6 |
Matchup to Watch
Kemba Walker vs. Damian Lillard: Lillard came into the NBA with a terrific pick-and-roll game and he’s also an accomplished 3-point shooter. He’s already made 186 3s this season, breaking his own Blazers record.
Observations
• The last game in Portland, Ore., was a 30-point victory by the Blazers, who outscored the Bobcats in every quarter. The Blazers have won seven of the past eight meetings between these teams.
• The Blazers have played the past four games without All-Star power forward
LaMarcus Aldridge, who has been out with a lower-back contusion.
Tap-ins
• This is the Blazers’ first game of an East Coast trip. They are 19-15 away from Portland, the fifth-best road record in the NBA.
• If this game is tight at the end, the Bobcats can’t afford to foul Lillard; he’s 88 percent at the foul line this season, fifth in the NBA.
Did you know?
The Bobcats give up a lot of 3s this season and that was particularly true in that game in Portland – the Trail Blazers made 21 of 33 3-point attempts, scoring nearly half their total points outside the arc.
Rick Bonnell
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